A number of different raised edge-leakage barriers are known in the prior art, see for example WO93/12795, showing edge-leakage barriers on a sanitary towel, which are formed by folded portions of the cover of the sanitary towel. An elastic cord, fastened and prestressed at each end, extends along the inside of the formed folds and keeps the barrier raised in an in-use position. Ensuring a safe fastening of the ends of the cord means placing great demands upon the manufacture of the sanitary towels. Furthermore, the cord does not counteract sideways flattening. Additionally, transversal folds are formed by the action of the elastic cord in the barrier-wall, which may be experienced as uncomfortable by the user.
An additional problem with modern sanitary towels, are that the surface material often consists of a perforated plastic layer, having favourable characteristics in terms of high liquid-permeability, high surface dryness and little rewetting (i.e. small risk that liquid is pressed back out again through the layer). Such a material is experienced as "plasticky" by many users and therefore it has become common to provide the edge-portions of the sanitary towels with more "textile" strips of non-woven material (fibre cloth). An example of a document describing such "textile edges" is SE-B-900349D-1, which shows edge-portions with flat folds, yielding a very limited liquid-stopping effect.